


A Christmas Surprise

by cassandrasfisher



Series: Kaleidoscope [2]
Category: Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-31
Updated: 2014-07-31
Packaged: 2018-02-11 05:45:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2055984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassandrasfisher/pseuds/cassandrasfisher
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Christmas time and the team has a little time for R&R. Everyone goes their separate ways. Will the team have a peaceful Christmas or will something or someone happen to ruin it for them?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Christmas Surprise

It was three days before Christmas. Coulson had decided to give the team five days off. It would be good for them to get the time. This wasn’t usual for the team, but it would be a long time before they got another break like all going on vacation at once.  
They had just set down in Massachusetts; they were going to drop Ward off so he could go home for the holiday. Agent Coulson walked down the stairs to get to the cargo area. Agent Ward and Skye stood there.  
  
“Agent Ward, are you ready to go?” Coulson asked him.  
  
“Yes, I am, but I have invited Skye to come with me and she has agreed.  
  
Phil looked at him. This was unexpected. He was not expecting Grant to invite Skye to spend time with him.  
  
“Okay. I want you both to have a good Christmas,” Phil said as he watched them both leave the Bus. There was a car waiting for them. It was a regular car, there was nothing to identify that they were agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Grant and Skye got into the car and they watched as the Bus left for a different location. It was going to drop off Jemma Simmons, another member of their team. They had already dropped off Leo Fitz at his home. They didn’t know what Agent Coulson or Agent May were going to do on their Christmas vacation. They were glad to they got to have time off.  
  
The trip to get to Ward’s home hadn’t taken them that long. Grant drove to his home. It was getting late so he didn’t take the scenic route to his home. Maybe when they weren’t pressed for time they could spend time taking in the scenery. Skye was looking out the window as he drove. There was so much he wanted to tell her, but he wasn’t sure she felt the same way about him as he felt for her. There was classical music playing softly.  
  
“Skye.”  
  
Skye looked over at him and gave him a smile. This was nice being, with Grant all by herself. It would give them a chance to talk. Skye wondered about the kiss that night on the bus when she couldn’t sleep.  
  
“About the night we made cookies.”  
  
“Yes, what about it?”  
  
“Umm….. I really do like you. I am sorry for being a jerk to you. I hope we can put that behind us and start over,” he said as he glanced over to her before returning his eyes to the road. Skye took a few deep breaths before answering.  
  
“Apology accepted. Yes, we can put it behind up and start over,” Skye answered, wondering if the kiss was going to come up. It was quiet the rest of the drive.  
  
It was a little while before they stopped driving. They sat in front of a two-story house. It was light blue with white trimming. It looked like a nice home and she was glad Grant was letting her being a part of his life.  
  
They had talked and she knew a little more about his life. His older brother was in jail. Daniel ended up robbing a bank and shot someone. The person who he shot ended up dead when he got to the hospital. His brother got twenty-five to life for what he did. His younger brother died when he was twelve; he drowned in the well. His parents died when he was fourteen, so his grandmother took care of them.  
  
“So, are you ready for this?” Skye asked him. Grant looked over at her.  
  
“Yes, but it has been a while since I have seen my Grandmother.”  
  
“Don’t you mean gramiz?” Skye told him.  
  
“Umm….”  
  
“I do remember what you said.”  
  
“Okay, just don’t mention it to my grandmother?” Grant said.  
  
“Okay, we should get ready to go in.”  
  
“Let me just grab my bag from the backseat.” Skye said, getting out of the car to get her bag -- it was too big to just grab from the front seat and she didn’t want to hit Grant with the bag.  
  
“All set?” Grant asked.  
  
“Yeah, we’re set.”  
  
They got out of the car and made their way up to the door. Grant knocked. It was a few moments before the door opened.  
  
“Grant, my boy. It’s great to see you,” Esther said with a smile on her face. Then she moved aside so Grant and Skye could come into the house. When they were in, she closed the door.  
  
“Grandma. Good to see you. Sorry I haven’t visited you more often,” Grant said.  
  
“It’s all right, my boy. I know your work life keeps you busy. The least you could do is call a little more often, though,” Esther said to her grandson.  
  
“I will call you more often from now on,” Grant promised before realizing it was time to introduce Skye to his grandmother. He scooted Skye closer to him. “Granny this is Skye. She will be staying with us for Christmas.”  
  
“Oh my, is this the young woman you intend to spend the rest of your life with?”  
  
“Granny,” Grant said. When Skye heard this, her cheeks turned three shades darker. Skye had a feeling Grant really didn’t bring many women home. She was surprised to hear his grandmother asking Grant if she was the one he was going to marry. The thought had passed through her mind a few times. She did see herself as Mrs. Skye Ward. When this came about, she did wonder if she would know about who her parents were. She did want her father to walk her down the aisle. It was going to be hard if she did get married and she didn’t know who her father was.  
  
“Mrs. Ward, it’s nice to meet you.”  
  
“My dear, you can call me Esther since you will be my granddaughter soon.”  
  
“Granny!” Grant exclaimed.  
  
“It’s going to happen,” Esther told them. Now both Grant and Skye’s cheeks turned a few shades redder. It was quiet for a minute. “Well, I will show you to your rooms.”  
  
Grant nodded his head. His grandmother showed them to their room. Grant waited to see what his grandmother had decided. It was her house, after all.  
  
“Grant, you don’t mind sharing a room with Skye?”  
  
“What happened to the other rooms?”  
  
“I’ve been cleaning the house. So I have used the other rooms as storage space.”  
  
“I don’t mind at all. Do you mind this at all, Skye?” Grant asked her. He wanted to make sure she was okay with these arrangements.  
  
“No, I don’t mind at all,” Skye said as she smiled. It was a good thing she was here with Grant and not by herself. If Grant didn’t invite her she was sure she would be in her van by herself. She didn’t have any family so there was nowhere to go. So when she said it was okay, she meant it. Esther opened the door and moved out of the way so they could get into the room. Grant let Skye go in first. When she entered the room she was expecting to see posters of rock bands and all. What she did see surprised her. His room was clean, neat, and did not have posters on the wall at all. She did not want to invade his space so she was going to keep her clothes in her suitcase.  
  
This wasn’t something that was usual. This was going to be fun. What was the sleeping arrangement going to be like? There was one bed, a single. If both of them decided to sleep on the bed then it was going to be a tight fit. Of course, she didn’t mind the tight fit. She was good with it.

“I’ll let you guys get settled,” Esther said as she left the room to let them get settled.

Grant looked over at Skye as she looked around his room. There wasn’t anything he could hide now. It would be good for her to know more about him. He knew he didn’t know anything really about her. Skye would tell him when she felt comfortable in telling him. She was beautiful to him. He knew she was going to be with him when times were bad. She was there to help him when he was taken over by the Berserker staff. He was glad she was there to help him with what he had been going through at that time. Of course he had spent a little time with May, but that had stopped a few days later.  
  
“Skye, I’ll take the floor and you can take the bed,” Grant said as he went over to his closet to pull a blanket and pillow for to lie on when they ended up going to bed.  
  
“Well we better get ready for bed since it’s late. We can have an early day or sleep in. Really,whichever you want,” Skye said to Grant.  
  
“I am sure my Grandmother will be waking up early to start getting the decorations and food ready for Christmas.” Grant said.  
  
It was nice to see Skye’s reaction to what he was showing her. With the expression on her face, he could tell she was okay with what she was being shown. He smiled. Skye looked at him.  
  
“Ah, so the robot does smile.” Skye said as grabbed her pajamas. She headed to the bathroom so she could change into them. Grant knew after this little vacation they would know each other a bit better. Who knew, maybe he would make what his Grandma said come true. He had to admit he was in love with Skye. He saw in his future Skye being his wife. It was a few minutes before Skye came out of the bathroom to his door. In that time he was able to change into his shorts and a white t-shirt.  
  
Skye got back to the room she saw Grant making his bed. Grant got comfortable then he smiled at her. Skye wanted to make a comment that the bed had more then enough room for both of them to use, but did not want to intrude so she kept quiet. Grant looked at her and gave her a nod. It was telling her it was okay to turn off the light. Skye turned off the light and she went over to the bed and got in. The room was dark; it took a couple of minutes before Grant and Skye’s eyes adjusted to the dark in his room.  
  
“Is everything okay for you?” Grant asked her.  
  
“Yes, I am fine. Have a good night,” Skye said as she lay down in her bed and smiled. She knew he wouldn’t see her smile. After a few minutes Skye drifted off to sleep.

 

Clint and Natasha were at the Avengers Tower. It was close to Christmas and everything was quiet. It was a good thing. There were no aliens attacking earth to take it over or destroy it. Tony had planned a big Christmas party for the Avengers. All of them were going to be coming. Of course, he had a surprise for each one of them, which he said they would get when they came to the party.  
  
Natasha had no idea what the surprise would be for her. The one thing she wanted for Christmas was to know her daughter was okay. She had given her daughter up to keep her safe twenty-four years ago. Only a couple of people knew about her having a child. The two who knew were Director Fury and Maria. Everyone else thought she was on an undercover mission, she wasn’t. The reason was that she was giving birth to her daughter.  
  
Everything was classified and sealed. Fury told her he had laid out a paper trail for anyone who was looking for the mother of the child. It would lead them to someone else who wasn’t her mother. If the people who were looking looked deep enough they would find out the truth as to whom her mother was. For Natasha, it was the hardest thing she had ever had to do in her life to give her daughter up twenty-four years ago.  
  
“You okay?” Clint asked Natasha as he looked up from the book he was reading.  
  
“I am okay. Just thinking about something, that’s all,” Natasha told him. She did want to tell Clint about her having a daughter. It wasn’t going to go over so well when he found out that particular news. Once the news was out, she was going to be glad when he did find out.  
  
“It must be something deep. You looked like you were a million miles away there.”  
  
“I know. Is it bothering you?”  
  
“No, it’s not. I am just worried about you, that’s all.”  
  
“Clint, you don’t have to worry about me. I will be fine.”  
  
“Are you sure?” Clint asked, concerned.  
  
“Yes, I will be fine.”  
  
Clint went back to reading his book. It was a good read. He was glad to be reading a book. With the missions he and Natasha had been on there, wasn’t much time to read. Now since the holidays were around everything seemed to have slowed down. He was going to take advantage of this time to catch up on his reading and spend time with the one woman he loved.

He was compromised, but he wasn’t going to say anything. Since the battle of New York and Natasha telling him she was compromised, he did not push the issue. It did not seem right to do that. So he stayed quiet. If Natasha wanted to talk about it then she would. He went back to reading his book and Natasha went back to what she was doing before.

Tony Stark looked at the screen. It was a pain, but he was going to give Natasha a gift he was sure she was going to like. He had been working hours hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D. Well, actually looking at Natasha’s files, to be exact. He looked through it until something caught his eyes. Clint and Natasha had gone on missions together but there were rarely on mission on their own.  
  
Twenty-four years ago Natasha was pulled away for another mission that seemed strange to him. She was back ten months later. Well, after days of hacking…well, digging through endless files Tony found out Natasha had given birth to a young baby girl. No one knew this in S.H.I.E.L.D. or should he say Director Fury had buried the information so deep nobody would find it unless they were looking for it. He was looking for a gift to give Natasha; this would be his gift to her.  
  
All he had to do was to find out where this young woman was at the moment. It was going to be a little tricky to find out who and where she was.  
  
“Jarvis, run protocol Delta Finder,” Tony said.  
  
“Protocol Delta Finder initialized,” Jarvis told him. Then Tony watched as the program started to run. It was going to be a while before any information came up about whom Natasha’s daughter was. He could move away from this and work on something else and come back to it later.  
  
“Jarvis, please keep me informed of any results in Delta Finder. I am going to get something to eat.”  
  
“Yes, sir.” Jarvis replied as Tony got up from his chair and left the room. He made his way to the kitchen area of The Avengers Tower. When he got to the kitchen area he saw Natasha and Clint sitting on the couch. Clint was reading a book. Natasha sat close to Clint and she was just staring into space. He felt a bit scared and he had a feeling that if he made any snarky remark at this time he would end up on the floor with a black eye. He didn’t exactly want that at the moment.  
  
“Hey, you guys.”  
  
Clint and Natasha looked up from what they were doing. Clint gave him a slight nod of his head. Natasha just looked at him.  
“I am just going to make a sandwich.”

A few moments passed by and he continued towards the refrigerator. He made his sandwich and headed to his lab. There were a few experiments he wanted to check on.  
Bruce was in one of the lab doing his own experiment. He wasn’t sure exactly what his experiment was. Tony was sure if Bruce wanted him to know what his experiment was he would tell him. He left him alone to work on his things. He went into one of his other labs, finished eating his sandwich, and then he went to work to make sure the experiments he was conducting were doing well.

Skye was lying on the bed. It’d been a little while. Sleep had eluded her. The rhythmic breathing told her that Grant was asleep. Skye removed the cover and sat up. Then she slowly moved to Grant’s side. She lifted the cover and then she lay down next to him. He started to stir, and his eyes open to looked at her.  
  
“Hi.”  
  
“Hi, I hope you don’t mind.”  
  
“No,”  
  
“Okay, good,” Skye said, as he wrapped his arm around her. They both settled down. It didn’t take long for both of them to fall back asleep. It was not long before the door cracked open and Esther stuck her head into his room. She saw her grandson and Skye lying on the floor together. She smiled as she closed the door. She would let them sleep in. It was probably going to be a good thing for them to get extra rest. She got ready for bed and before she fell asleep she looked out the window to see it snowing. This Christmas was going to be amazing.

Phil Coulson sat at his desk; they had dropped the team off. Melinda was sitting across from him.  
  
“So where are you going to go for your mini vacation?” Phil asked her.

“Well at the moment my father is on a business trip. He is going to be in meetings all day. He has Christmas day off, but he will be working and my mother passed away. My younger brother is out with his friends.”

Phil looked over at her. He was going to have her or at least try to get her to spend her time with her father. Everyone should spend Christmas with loved ones. For him the closest thing he had to family was The Avengers, but since they were not higher than clearance level six they couldn’t know he was alive. He was going to be lonely, but it didn’t mean that Melinda had to be.  
  
“Where is your father’s business trip at?” Phil asked.  
  
“New York,” Melinda replied. He had to admit it was sort of a coincidence.  
  
“If you don’t mind I would like to head to New York. I want to go catch a Broadway show. Wicked is playing.” Phil said. One of Melinda eyebrows rose.  
  
“Theater?”  
  
“Yes, I like to see a good show every once in a while. I haven’t seen one for a while. It’s overdue at the moment.”  
“Okay.” Melinda said as she left his office to go and fly to New York. He knew she would go and see her father if they were in New York. She had no excuse not to spend time with her father now.  
Melinda made her way to the cockpit of the bus. She would have never guessed this would be her second family. She might not show it, but she cared for each member of this team. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for any of them. They had come a long way since they were put together.  
  
She got to the cockpit, sat down, and then she went over the preflight check which didn’t take long. Once it was down then they were off. The Bus was headed for New York. It was then her mind wandered back to her childhood. How her parents loved her. They taught her right from wrong. There were some lessons she learned on her own. They did not shelter her or treat her like a child. She loved both her parents dearly.

Esther had gotten a few hours of sleep. She got up and started to decorate the house for Christmas. It was great that her grandson was there. This Christmas she was going to have help with things. She went to the kitchen. It was clean and it would stay that way. When she cooked she cleaned up as she went.  
  
The ingredients were gathered and set down on the counter. There were plenty of ingredients to make plenty of food. Esther had a feeling there were going to be more guests for this Christmas. She started to bake the food. The aroma of food baking filled the air.

Grant woke slowly to the smell of baked goods. It was then he realized that Skye was by his side. He thought it was a dream when she came and lay down beside him last night. He was surprised to realize that it was real and not a dream. He just watched her for a moment. She started to stir a moment later and her her eyes fluttered open.  
  
“Hello.”  
  
“Good Morning,” Skye said as she rested a hand on his chest.  
  
“So what do you want to do first today?”  
  
“I think we should get ready and then go help your Grandmother with the food,” Skye suggested. Grant gave her a kiss on the forehead. It really wasn’t where he wanted to kiss her, but he was not sure if she would let him kiss her or not. Maybe later he might have the guts to kiss her the way he wanted to. For one thing, his grandmother was right. Skye was the woman he was going to marry. He knew he had his grandmother’s wedding ring somewhere in his room. His grandmother gave it to him after his grandfather died. She wasn’t planning on getting married after her husband had died. To her it didn’t seem right.  
  
Grant just wanted to lay there with Skye just the way they were. It was nice for them to be like there were. On the bus it had to be professional. He wasn’t sure what would happen once they were married. He hoped they were able to stay on the team together. If not, then they would have to talk to see who would be the one leaving the team. Skye sat up and stretched.  
  
“I am sure your Grandmother will be coming in here soon to wake us up…and the fact there is food baking is making me hungry,” Skye said as she stood up. Grant sat up.. He knew that she was right.  
  
“You can go ahead and use the bathroom to get ready. I’ll go after you’re done,” Grant told her. Skye went over to her suitcase and took out what she was going to wear for the day. Then she headed to the bathroom, but not before giving Grant a wink. Once she was gone Grant got out the clothes he was going to wear for that day. It wasn’t going to be a suit like he usually wore on the Bus. Then he went and folded the blanket he had used to sleep and put it in his closet before making the bed. He turned to see Skye, who was showered and dressed, watching him.  
  
“You know, I could have made the bed after I got ready” Skye told him. Grant just shrugged. “The bathroom is free now.”  
  
Grant gave her a nod and got his clothes and headed to the bathroom. Skye headed downstairs. The aroma of baked goods hit her nose. She saw Esther mixing some ingredients in a bowl.  
  
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Skye asked softly as not to startle her. Esther looked up from the bowl she was mixing.  
“Skye, dear, yes you can help my rolling out the dough for the cookies,” Esther told her as she gestured with her head towards the dough, which was on the counter next to her. Skye nodded her head and she went over and started to roll the dough out. “So where is my grandson?”  
  
“He’s in the shower,” Skye told her without looking up from what she was doing. They were quietly working on the task they had in front of them.  
  
“So how long have you being in love with my grandson?” Esther asked her. Skye’s cheeks went three shades darker. She could lie to her without her being the wiser. The thing was if she did she wouldn’t feel good lying to someone who cared about the man she was in love with.  
  
“Ever since we met each other,” Skye told her honestly.  
  
“How long ago was that?”  
  
“Two months ago.”  
  
“That’s not very long.”  
  
“I know, but I do care for him a lot.”  
  
“I can see that,” Esther said. She knew Grant had heard the conversation since she could see him out of the corner of her eyes. Esther saw the grin on his face. Grant was quiet as he made his way to stand behind Skye. He slipped his arms around Skye’s waist. Skye stopped rolling the dough and jumped a few inches up. She was surprised by Grant wrapping his arms around her.  
“Didn’t mean to startle you.”  
  
“It’s fine, just make sure next time you let me know it you so I won’t end up hurting you. That is, if I have something in my hand which can hurt you,” Skye told him.  
  
“Okay. I will remember that from now on,” Grant told her as he released her and let her get back to what she was doing. “Anything I can do to help?”  
  
“Yes, you can pull the pies from the oven,” Esther told him. Grant got the oven mitten on and he opened the oven. He took the baking sheets out. There were two golden brown pies on it. Grant set them on the stove. He did the same with the second baking sheet.

“Cherry pie, my favorite,” Grant said. Of course Skye knew it was his favorite since she had read it from his file. She gave him a smile. This was going to be the best Christmas that she had ever had. She was spending it with someone she loved. It was nice that Grant had brought her home to meet his Grandmother. Skye was not sure exactly what she thought about what was going on at this moment. All she hoped was to be by Grant’s side. She had a feeling Grant liked her, but she wasn’t sure how far it went. For her, she was in love with him.

Tony was about to enter another lab with one of his experiments when Jarvis interrupted him.  
  
“Sir, the results you wanted are ready for your review,” Jarvis said.  
  
“Thank you, Jarvis.” Tony said as he headed back to his office. He had gotten everyone a Christmas present except for Natasha, but now he had the perfect gift for her.

It was the right thing to do. Reunite mother and daughter. Fury wasn’t going to keep him from doing that. If Fury did try and do that then he would pull out information he knew Fury did not want to get out. He knew blackmail wasn’t a good thing, but everyone deserved to happy on Christmas. He didn’t care what he had to do, but Natasha was going to be happy this Christmas.

Tony got to the office. He went and sat down in the chair behind his guess. Then he put up the information Jarvis had found. Natasha’s daughter’s name was Skye. All other information about her was there except for the last six months. He wasn’t sure how long it would take to get past walls that had been put up to keep the knowledge of what Skye had been doing for the past six month to be revealed to him.  
  
“Jarvis, run program Alpha Beta Gamma 52039,” Tony said.  
  
“As you wish, sir.” Jarvis said. Tony let out a yawn. He looked at the clock and realized it was past midnight. He decided to go check on what Pepper was doing. He put his computer on sleep mode. Jarvis would keep running even if the computer in the office was put on sleep mode.  
  
“Let me know when you have finished the program.”  
  
“Yes, sir.”  
  
Tony then got up and headed out of the office to go find Pepper. So far he’d found a present for everyone. For Happy, he gave him tickets to the Bahamas. For Pepper, the next building she helped create was going to have her name on the lease. Rodney, he upgraded War Machine. Banner was going to get shorts which would change with him when he became the Hulk so he didn’t have to keep buying new pairs of pants. Thor, he gave him a picture of him and Jane together asleep on the couch. Rogers, he gave him a few CDs so he could catch up on the music of this era. Barton, he gave him new exploding arrows which had a homing device in them. For Natasha, he was going to find her daughter and let them meet. It was going to be a great Christmas this year.

He had no idea if was already in bed, maybe even asleep. He definitely would not wake her if she were indeed asleep. It took him a few minutes before he got to his room He peeked in and saw Pepper’s sleeping form. He got into his nightwear and got into bed. He hugged Pepper close to him and she snuggled closer to him. Then he fell asleep.  
  
Clint and Natasha spent most of the night doing what they were doing. Of course, they took the time to get something to eat. They cleaned up as they made their food. It was past midnight when they decided to go to bed. Natasha held onto Clint’s hand. She didn’t want to be alone tonight. Clint just followed her.  
  
Bruce was away from the Tower for a visit to a friend, but he would be back on Christmas. Thor was with Jane at her apartment in New York. Steve Rogers was at his apartment in New York, but would drop by the tower when Christmas rolled around.

Esther, Grant and Skye finished baking some cookies and pies. Esther then went to her room for a little rest. She had been up early to cook the sweet food. She was asleep with the half hour. When she did that, it left Grant and Skye to do things for themselves.  
  
Grant looked at Skye. He was glad to be spending time with her. He wanted to get to know her better.  
  
“Let’s go and get the tree,” Grant said quietly. Skye looked up at him. A smile appeared on her lips. It was a good day for her. She stood up and grabbed her coat. She had her hat and a pair of gloves in her pocket.  
  
“Let’s go.”  
  
Grant nodded her head. He then grabbed his jacket from the closet. He put his hat and gloves on, then they headed out the door. He stopped by the shed and grabbed the axe. The walk to the pine grove was quiet. Halfway there, Grant entwined his hand with hers. She didn’t take her hand from his. Grant realized she wasn’t making any move to take her hand out of his. He then had a smile on his face, and it was the same with Skye.  
  
Grant didn’t want to spook her with asking such a personal question, but this seemed like a good time. They were both happy, but what could make him happier was if she said yes to his question. He stopped and so did Skye. He moved in front of Skye and got down on one knee. He reached into his pocket and got out the ring box he had put in his pocket earlier that day. He opened it to show Skye what was inside. There sat in the middle of the box a diamond ring. The surprise on Skye’s face told Grant she wasn’t expecting this.

“Skye, I know we haven’t known each other for long. Since you first came aboard I felt something for you. As time went on I started to care for you as more than just a friend. I am here now to ask this question. Skye, will you do the honor of becoming my wife?” Grant asked her.  
  
It was like a dream had come true for her. Only she had thought he would propose to her in a restaurant setting. This was more romantic for her, though. She loved Grant and saw herself spending the rest of her life with him. Skye took off her gloves so the ring could fit on her finger.  
  
“Yes Gant I will marry you,” Skye said, as he took the ring out of the box and slipped it on to her left ring finger. Grant got up and gave her a hug before they kissed. It was a few minutes before they came up for air.  
  
“I love you, Grant.”  
  
“I love you, Skye.” Grant said as he watched her put her gloves back on. “Now let’s go get this Christmas tree.”  
  
They both continued to walk. Skye stopped at one tree.  
  
“How is this one, Grant?” Skye asked. She had looked at the living room and saw how big the tree could be. The one she was in front of was the perfect tree to sit in the home. Grant examined the tree. He knew it would be perfect. Skye did have a good eye. At least they were not going to spend hours to pick out a tree. Grant nodded his head. She moved out of the range of the axe. Grant began to chop at the tree. The tree fell to the ground. It wasn’t too heavy for both of them to carry it back to the house. Grant grabbed the bottom while Skye grabbed the top. They walked to the house with the tree. They got into the house, and Grant and Skye put the tree in the living corner of the living room. Grant disappeared for a few moments.

He came back with a box of ornaments and other things to put on the tree. They both started to decorate the tree. It didn’t take them long to get it decorated. Esther came down from her nap. She saw the interaction between her grandson and Skye. It was then that she noticed the ring on Skye’s ring finger. Of course she would wait until they told her about the news. She watched them and after a few moments she went to do laundry. Grant and Skye stopped for a moment and she moved closer to her and kissed him. Grant kissed her back.

It was a little while before they broke apart. When they did break apart they admired their handiwork. The tree looked great.  
  
“Is there anything else we could do?” Skye asked as she looked at Grant. Grant looked at her. It was getting dark outside.. It would be fun to have a snow fight. The sound of the doorbell broke him out of his thoughts. He went over to the door and opened it. What he saw surprised him. There stood his best friend from grade school. The look of surprise on his face told him he wasn’t expecting to see Grant here.  
  
“Grant, my man, what are you doing here?” Zesus asked him.  
  
“I am here on vacation. What are you doing here?”  
  
“I’m checking on your Grandmother.”  
  
One of Grant’s eyebrows lifted.  
  
“It’s not like that,” Zesus said as he raised his arms up in surrender. “Plus my wife wouldn’t be too happy if I did something like that.  
“Your wife?” Grant asked, not sure who would have married his best friend.  
  
“Riley Atlantis.”  
  
“You mean the head of the high school cheerleading squad?”  
  
“The one and only.”  
  
“When did this happen?”  
  
“We have been married for three years now. Thought you didn’t want anything to do with me since you missed my wedding. I was going to have you be my best man. Since you didn’t come I had to have Harvey Blinkey to be my best man.”  
  
“Sorry, I was at work when the invitation came,” Grant said as Skye came to his side. Zesus noticed her.  
  
“Now who is this lovely lady?”  
  
“Zesus this is my girlfriend Skye,” Grant introduced. Then he turned to Skye.  
  
“Skye, this is my best friend, Zesus Kennish. We have been friends since we were in diapers.”

“It’s nice to see Grant here has a girlfriend.”

“Thank you, why don’t you come in?” Skye said, as she moved Grant out of the way so Zesus could get into the house. “I am about to make some hot chocolate. would you like a cup?”  
  
“Sure, that would be great,” Zesus said as he took off his coat and hung it up in the closet. Skye went to the kitchen and made four cups of hot chocolate and got them ready. Grant and Zesus came into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Skye brought over the hot chocolate and placed it in front of them. Then she placed the other two cups down on the table in front of the empty chairs. Skye looked over at Grant.  
  
“I am going to see what your Grandmother is up to,” Skye said, as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. She turned around to head upstairs but was stopped by Grant who had grabbed her arm. He pulled her back and she ended up having him kiss her. It was a few moments before they broke apart. Skye had a smile on her face as she headed up to see what Esther was up to.

Esther had gotten to her room and she pulled out a shoebox from underneath the bed. The shoebox held everything that reminded her of her husband. She sat on her bed and the shoebox was beside her. The lid was removed. In the box sat postcards, letters, movie stubs and a few other things. Esther smiled as she picked up a movie stub. It was for the movie The Vow. The movie was good and they had had fun watching it. There was a knock on the door. It brought her out of the memory. She looked to see Skye standing there.  
  
“Skye, my dear, is everything okay?” Esther asked her.  
  
“Zesus came by for a visit. I made hot chocolate, just wanted to know if you wanted to come down and join in our conversation.”  
  
Esther put the movie stub back into the shoebox and closed the lid. She got up and put the shoebox back where she got it then she stood up.  
  
“That would be lovely dear.”  
  
“What was in the shoebox?” Skye asked her quietly.  
  
“My memories of my husband.”  
  
“Oh…” Skye said softly as she moved away from the door and let Ester head down first. She wasn’t going to butt in her life. Of course, she was worried about her. Esther needed to find someone for herself. They were going to be family soon. At the moment she couldn’t tell her that news. Grant and herself hadn’t talked about exactly what they were going to tell the others.  
They ended up talking long into the night. It was after one before Zesus left. Of course they made plan to meet up on Christmas Eve to hang out. Esther invited Zesus to her Christmas dinner party. As soon as he left they all headed to bed. Esther stopped Skye on the way to bed.  
  
“Is everything okay Esther?”  
  
“I would like you to invite your co-worker to the party on Christmas. Don’t tell Grant. I want it to be a surprise for him,” Esther told her softly.  
“Sure, I will.” Skye replied as she gave Esther a hug and headed back to Grant’s room.  
  
It didn’t take her long to get settled for bed. Grant had taken the floor again. Soon they were asleep. Sometime in the night Skye ended up at Grant’s side and snuggled against him.

Tony had wakened not long after coming to bed. Pepper was still in bed asleep. He decided to let her sleep. He got out of bed and got ready for the day.  
  
“Sir the results are in,” Jarvis told him  
  
“Let me see them,” Tony said as the results showed up on his pad. He skimmed it and stopped at the name Phil Coulson.  
Fury had told them Phil was dead, but this told him that Phil wasn’t dead. He had his own team and had it up and running for a few months now. Tony ended up sitting in a chair and just staring at the wall. This was how Clint and Natasha found him. Natasha snapped her hand in front of him, and nothing happened.  
  
“Tony, are you okay?” Clint asked him. Of course he got nothing in reply. He looked at Natasha.

“What are we going to do?” Clint asked her. Natasha looked over at him. She moved and got his device and she looked at the screen in front of her. Her eyes found the name Phil Coulson and that he had his own team. Natasha handed the device to Clint and he read it. He looked at it and saw the same information.  
  
“Coulson’s alive?”  
  
“It seems like it. So Fury lied to us.”  
  
“Yes. Where is Coulson now?”  
  
“Not sure, but if we snapped Tony out of this then we could find him.”  
  
“Okay, do you know a way to snap him out of this?  
  
“No, do you?”  
  
Natasha used her hand and slapped the back of his head. Tony shook his head.  
  
“What was that for?”  
  
“To wake you up.”  
  
“Thanks.”  
  
“So Phil’s alive?” Natasha asked as she stood back from him.  
  
“Yes. Why did Fury keep this from us?”  
  
“I am not sure, but when we get the chance to ask him we will find out,” Tony told her.  
  
“So do we know where he is at this moment?” Clint asked Tony.  
  
“No, but I can have Jarvis search for him.”  
  
“Good. The sooner we find him the faster we can get on with our lives.”  
  
“Jarvis, can you search for Phil Coulson? Let me know when you find him.”

“I will do that sir,” Jarvis said. Natasha looked at the other information.  
  
“My daughter,”  
  
“What?” Clint asked. He wasn’t sure how she had a daughter without him knowing.  
  
“You found my daughter.”  
  
“I didn’t know you had a daughter,” Clint said.  
  
“Our daughter.”  
  
Clint stepped back away from Tony and Natasha and his mouth was wide open. It took him a second to gain his composure.

“Our daughter?”  
  
“Yes, do you remember the nine months that I left on a mission? I wasn’t on assignment. I was having our baby girl,” Natasha said softly.

Clint looked at her. His hands were shaking. He was a father how; would this end up? He didn’t know how to be a father. He was an assassin. How could he be a father? What was his daughter like now? Where was she at, how had she been?

Clint knew that it would take time for him to process all this information. His attention was brought back when there was a beep from Jarvis.  
  
“Agent Coulson has been found,” Jarvis said.  
  
“Where is he at?” Tony asked.  
  
“John F. Kennedy International Airport.’  
  
“Let’s get going.”  
  
“Going where?”  
  
“To the airport. We are going to confront him and find out why he did what he did.”  
  
“We shouldn’t go off half cocked. I think we should give it a couple of hours before we leave. We need to be calm when we approached him.”  
  
“I am not mad, I am relieved.”  
  
“So am I.”  
  
“Okay, the jet will be ready to go in fifteen. Just to be sure we will go to Massachusetts first and then we will see Phil,” Tony said as he closed out all the applications he had opened. Natasha and Clint nodded their head in agreement. Then he made his way to the air bay the jet was in.  
  
Natasha and Clint followed him. Once they get there they got in and got ready to go.  
  
They headed to the airport.  
  
Things at the Ward house were up and kicking. Skye had a good idea. She was going to get the rest of the gang here. It would be nice to have the team there to have a Christmas together. Well they may or may not be there. She had sent an invitation to her team the second day there. Of course Grant didn’t know she had done this. Grant’s grandmother had wifi so she was able to use it to send the e-mail. She hadn’t had time to check for a response.  
  
She did hope that they got the message and were on their way there. It would be a good thing for the team to have their first official Christmas together. Right now she was trying to figure out a way to have a snowball fight. She could ask Grant to go on a walk with her and then have it end up in a snowball fight in their front yard.  
  
“Grant, let’s go for a walk.”  
  
“It’s still cold out there/ Are you sure you don’t want to stay in?” Grant asked her as he pulled her closer to him.  
  
“I want to get some fresh air.”  
  
“Okay. Let’s go and get you some fresh air,” Grant replied, as he released her from his grasp and went and got ready for the walk. Skye went and got ready for the walk also. They headed out but not before letting Esther know where they were going. Esther let them know she was going to stay. They headed out.  
  
The air was brisk and Skye zipped her jacket all the way. Grant entwined his hand with hers as soon as her hand was free. They were happy and it was a great day. Happiness was what they both felt. The walk they had relaxed themselves, it was half an hour away from home when they heard something in the air. They looked up to see a jet. With a glance from one another they got in the defense stance. They did not know whom the jet belonged to. They knew it did not belong to S.H.I.E.L.D.. The jet landed in front of them and the door opened. Three people stepped out. Once Ward saw the second man who walked out he relaxed.  
  
“Agent Barton, what are you doing here?” Grant asked him.  
  
“Agent Ward, good to see you. We are here to see Skye,” Clint said as he looked over at Natasha. Natasha was biting the bottom of her lip.  
He knew she wasn’t sure how Skye was going to take the fact that they were her parents.  
  
“Can I ask why you are here to see her?” Grant asked.  
  
“Grant, how do you know Agent Barton?” Skye asked curiously. She didn’t know if she should hold his hand or not. She didn’t know the three in front of her at all. She knew of Tony Stark but never met him.  
v “Agent Barton is my SO,” Grant told her.  
  
“Natasha, do you want to answer that question?” Clint asked. Natasha just stood there quietly. Clint moved over to her side and rested a hand on her shoulder. Natasha looked over at him, and then she looked over at Skye.  
  
“Skye, have you ever wondered about your parents?”  
  
“Yes, I have been looking for them for a very long time. I’ve been moved from foster home to foster home ever since I was younger. I was dropped off at the orphanage. The agent who dropped me off was killed. Other then that I haven’t been able to get any information on who my parents are,” Skye told them. All this time Tony stayed quiet. This was important to Natasha and he wasn’t about to ruin it for her.  
  
“Well you don’t have to look any further.”  
  
“Why not?”  
  
“The reason why is because we’re your parents,” Natasha said, as she took one of Clint’s hands into hers. Skye’s mouth was opened and she took a stepped back, which made her bump into Grant. It was a surprise to both Skye and Grant. Skye had finally found her parents. It was something she had wanted to find the answer to for so long that she never expected to find the answer at all. Now the answer had been uncovered so there wasn’t anything else she had to go search for.  
  
“Why did you give me up?” Skye asked.  
  
“I wanted you to have a better life, so I gave you up. No, your father did not know about me being pregnant.”  
  
“I just found out about an hour ago,” Clint admitted. This wasn’t how he expected to have a child, but he wasn’t going to say this was bad. It didn’t matter to him. He had a daughter now. He wouldn’t give that up for anything. To get to know her better was a priority. He had missed twenty-four years of her life, he wasn’t going to miss any more of it.  
  
“Mr. Ward. I am wondering, is there a large field nearby so I can properly park the jet?” Tony asked Grant. Grant looked at Tony.  
  
“Well the field next to the house has enough room for it to sit in,” Grant told him.  
  
“Well let’s get on the jet and head back to your home,” Tony said, as he shivered. He wasn’t dressed for this cold weather. Of course he had his winter gear in a closet area in the jet, just in case he needed them. He would admit this was a time he would need them.  
  
Grant looked at Skye who turned her gaze from her parents to look at him. She nodded her head and they started into the jet. Tony was already in and sitting in one of the seats. Clint and Natasha followed them into the jet. It didn’t take them long to get settled in, and it took them less than five minutes to get back to Grant’s home.  
  
They headed into Grant’s home. Esther met them as soon as they walked into the door.  
  
“Grant, you do know who this is?” Esther said, as she stood by Tony.  
  
“Yes, Grandma, I know who he is.”  
  
“Why is he here?” Esther asked as one of her eyebrows rose. Grant looked at Tony so he could answer her question.  
  
“I am here to support Natasha,” Tony told her. For him this wasn’t a time to be himself. He would usually give a smart-alec remark, but he had an idea that Natasha would need him there as a friend and not his usual self. Esther looked over at Natasha.  
  
“Ma’am I am here to see my daughter,” Natasha’s soft voice said. Esther gave her a smile.  
  
“I guess I will make some hot chocolate,” Esther said as she headed to the kitchen to get the cups of hot chocolate ready. A few minutes later they were all settled in the living room. Tony gave a whistle.  
  
“This is a nice place.”  
  
“Thank you,” Ward said.  
  
“So, Skye, how have you been?” Natasha asked as she sat down next to her.  
  
“I am okay. I am working with a really great team.”  
  
“I’ve read that. So how has Coulson been treating you?”  
  
“AC is good. He’s like a father to me,” Skye told her.  
  
“That’s good. I wonder how Phil will feel about having my daughter in his team.”  
  
“I think he would be fine with that.”  
  
Esther finally brought out the cups of hot chocolate; she gave one cup to each of them.  
  
Natasha took a sip and then she put the cup on the table in front of them.  
  
“Grant how is the team you are on?” Clint asked as he looked over at Natasha and Skye. His attention was back on him.  
  
“The team is great. We haven’t been together that long, but I know we will get better as time goes on,” Grant replied, as his gaze landed on Skye. Clint saw the look Grant was giving his daughter.  
  
“Can I ask your intentions with my daughter?” Clint asked him. Grant looked at Clint and he swallowed. When he and Skye got married Clint was going to be his father-in-law. He was glad he would be able to call him dad. He didn’t have a dad growing up, so when Clint became his SO he also became a father to him. Grant was thankful for that.  
  
“Sir, my intention is to keep her happy and safe. I will make sure no harm comes to her,” Grant told him. Clint stared at him hard. Grant looked back at him. A few moments passed by before he said anything.  
  
“All right. You better be good to her or I else I will kill you,” Clint said. Grant nodded his head.  
  
Grant then went over and sat next to Skye. When he was settled, Skye leaned over and entwined her hand with his. Natasha looked at that action. Her eyebrows rose. Skye noticed this. Skye just smiled back at her. Natasha gave her a nod in return. They continue to talk. Esther joined them.

 

Phil looked at his laptop/ There was an e-mail from Skye; it was an invitation to Agent Ward’s home. He wasn’t sure whether or not to go. May knocked on his office door.  
  
“Phil, are you sure there isn’t anyone you want to visit?” May asked him. Phil looked up at her.  
  
“No. There isn’t anyone. All the people who knew me think I am dead. I am not interested in letting them know I am alive.”  
  
“Not even Victoria?”  
  
“No, not even Victoria. She has mourned for me already and I do not want to put her through the pain she has been through when it does happen for real,” Phil admitted to May. Victoria played the cello and was in a symphony. They had been dating before he had died. When he woke up and was told everyone thought he was dead he had told them not to let anyone else know he was alive, not even the Avengers. He knew once people found out, they were going to be pissed. Once that happened he would deal with whatever the fallout was.  
  
“Okay, so I take it there isn’t anywhere you want to go then.”

“Well, we did get invited to go to Agent Ward’s place for Christmas,” Phil told her. He knew what she was going to do next.

“We’ll be up in five….oh we got to make two stops, apparently both Fitz and Simmons were invited as well,” May told him as she turned and walked out the door to get the plane ready to pick up and head to Agent’s Ward home.  
  
It didn’t take them long to pick up Fitz and Simmons. They landed the plane at the airport in Massachusetts, the one in the town Grant lived in. They got a car and drove to where Grant lived. Once they parked the car they got out and headed for the door. Phil stopped for a second and looked over at the field. He thought he saw something. It was a few seconds and there was nothing. He decided it must be from him being tired from work, so he let it go. Phil knocked on the door. Esther was one who opened the door.  
  
“Yes, can I help you?” Esther asked him.  
  
“We are here to see Mr. Ward,” Phil said calmly. A few moments passed and Grant showed up at the door.  
  
“What are you guys doing here?” Grant asked.  
  
“Skye invited us,” Phil replied. It was then he saw the three people who were behind him.  
  
“Care to explain?” Tony said.  
v “Let him explain after they get inside,” Esther told them as she scooted them back so those who stood outside could come in and out of the cold. Phil, Melinda, Leo, and Jemma had taken their jackets off and stored them in the closet then they headed into the living room. Esther  
  
Once everyone was settled Phil had everyone’s eyes on him.  
  
“It was under my word did they kept me being alive a secret. Everyone had been through my death once. I didn’t want to do it more than once. Plus I am unable to do thing that I do if everyone knows I am alive,” Phil admitted to the group. He could see the pain in Clint and Natasha’s eyes. Tony had a glint in his eyes. It meant he was planning something. One way or another he was going to be part of a joke, whether he wanted to be in it or not.  
  
Everyone sat quietly as what Phil had said started to sink in. There wasn’t anything Phil could predict from the three Avengers who sat on the couch across from him. He hoped whatever it was it wouldn’t be too bad for him. After all, he was trying to protect his friend from getting hurt. If they were quiet, which they were, it meant he was in trouble. He did not know what sort of trouble, but there was trouble heading his way. It was in the form of two master assassins, so this was going to be fun.  
  
Esther came into the room and sat down in the only open chair left. It was a folding chair next to the door.  
  
“So how is everyone’s Christmas vacation going?” Esther asked. She hoped to break the ice in the room. It was so quiet. Everyone was deep in thought. For her this was the only question she could think of from the top of her head without any part of it being a lie. Esther had an idea of what her grandson was doing, but she wasn’t going to invade his work life unless it was necessary, which it wasn’t at the moment.  
  
“Well I did have fun at my family’s. I got the e-mail with the invitation to come here so I came. My parents were glad to see me, though.” Jemma told the group. She could feel the quietness; the thing was, quietness wasn’t always the best thing to have at some moments and this was one of those moments. Jemma looked over at Leo and she did hope he had had a good time with his family as well. There was no way of telling how his time with the family went.  
  
“Well, my grandmother got out of the hospital after hip surgery. I am glad she got to come home and find me there with my family. She was so happy to see me that she gave me a two hundred and fifty dollar ITunes gift card,” Leo said, as he held up the gift card. Tony looked at Fitz.  
  
“You might want to put that somewhere safe. You never know when Mr. Stark might try deciding to try and get it out of your hand,” Clint told him. Once her head that news, Leo put his gift card back into his front right pocket. All the while he kept an eye on Tony. Once it was in his pocket his attention turned back to the conversation. Esther got up often to go to the kitchen to check on the food. She had been cooking all day. The dining room was set up, so all that was needed was the food.  
  
“What smells so great? Phil asked.  
  
“It’s dinner. You guys are welcome to stay and have dinner.”  
  
Thank you for letting us stay,” Phil said as he stood up. “Is there anything I can help to get dinner ready?”  
  
“No, everything is already set up. I just have to check on the food,” Esther let them know. Esther went into the kitchen to get the food ready. Phil followed her. Jemma and Leo were talking to one another by the tree. Melinda sat on the couch just watching the others talk or do whatever they were doing. Tony was busy on his phone. Clint and Natasha were with Grant and Skye. They were talking quietly among themselves. It was a few moments before Esther came out of the kitchen.

“Dinner is served,” Esther said as everyone headed to the kitchen. Everyone got themselves a plate then headed into the dining room. They sat down and ate. The conversation during the meal was light hearted and funny at times. Half way through the meal Grant tapped his fork against his glass. This was after he looked at Skye who gave him a nod. Everyone looked at them.  
  
“I have an announcement to make,” Grant said, as he looked at everyone. They were giving him the hurry and tell them face. “I have asked Skye to marry me and she said yes.”  
  
There were a few eyes which were a bit wider. Grant looked at Natasha and Clint. Their faces were unreadable. He swallowed nervously; he wasn’t sure what their reaction was. They had just found their daughter a few hours ago, and now she was getting married. Soon there were a string of congratulations. Grant and Skye were happy.  
  
They all talked. Of course Jemma was excited about planning the wedding. Everyone talked into the night. After dinner was cleaned up they all went into the living room. It was time to open presents. They all gathered around the Christmas tree. All the present were handed out. Then everyone opened their presents. Everyone was happy with their presents. Soon it was time for Tony, Clint and Natasha to leave. Everyone said good-bye to them. Clint shook Grant’s hand.  
  
“Take care of my baby. If you hurt her I will kill you. Grandmother or no grandmother,” Clint said as he let go of his hand and walked out. As soon as the jet left Phil looked at his team.  
  
“We better get going.”  
  
“It’s late, you guys are staying here. There’s more then enough room for you guys to stay,” Esther insisted. It was indeed late and it was dark out. It would be better if they got rest now and left in the morning.  
  
“Okay. Just get it set up and we will stay out of your way,” Phil told her. Grant and Esther got everyone blankets and pillows. Soon everyone was sorted out. Everyone went to bed. Skye ended up cuddling with Grant. This ended up being a great first Christmas for her. She knew there were going to be greater Christmas gatherings to come.


End file.
